Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday he intended to hold Janet Yellen's nomination for chairman of the Federal Reserve unless the Senate agrees to vote on the Federal Transparency Act.

"The American people have a right to know what this institution is doing with the nation's money supply. The Federal Reserve does not need prolonged secrecy—it needs to be audited, and my bipartisan Federal Reserve Transparency Act will do just that," he said in a statement.

The Federal Reserve Transparency Act was passed by the U.S. House in 2012, but the same bill has been stalled in the Senate for three years, according to a letter Paul sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"As the Senate debates the nomination of the next head of the Federal Reserve, there is no more appropriate time to provide Congress with additional oversight and scrutiny of the actions and decisions of the central bank," Paul said.